Saurabh Netravalkar
The USA left-arm pacer who played U-19 cricket for India has reached Mumbai for the World Cup opener against the home team, having proven himself on the global stage in the tournament's previous edition. The 34-year-old cricketer-cum-software engineer was one of the pillars of USA's successful campaign in the 2024 edition in which the debutants upset the likes of Pakistan to qualify for the Super 8 stage. Netravalkar is raring to go in the more unforgiving pitches of India but for starters, he would be trying keep his emotions in check when he takes the field at Wankhede against his former Mumbai teammate Suryarkumar Yadav on February 7 (Pic: AFP)
Monank Patel
Captain of the USA in the tournament-opener against India would be Anand-born Monank Patel, who too established himself on the World Cup stage with a match-winning half-century against Pakistan. The 32-year-old opening batter is looking forward to facing his Gujarat U-19 teammate Jasprit Bumrah while reminiscing about their younger days off the field. Bumrah has gone on to become arguably the best fast bowler in the world, and Monank saw that coming as a teenager (Pic: X/@ICC)
Aryan Dutt
Aryan Dutt already has the experience of playing in front of Indians fans during the ODI World Cup in 2023. The sole cricketer of Indian lineage in the Netherlands squad, the 22-year-old would be aiming to surprise the higher-ranked teams in the competition. Dutt's family had moved to the Netherlands from Punjab back in the 1980s. He still has extended family in the Indian state (Pic: X/@ICC)
Dilpreet Bajwa
Gurdaspur-born Bajwa moved to Canada only in 2020, and six years later, he returns to India as captain of the North American outfit. Despite making a bagful of runs in age-group cricket in Punjab, Bajwa did not get the opportunities he wished for and pretty much got used to rejection. However, he did not let that phase bog him down and vowed to continue his cricketing journey in a less competitive environment. Success in the Canada Global T20 League fast-tracked him into the national team, and he has not looked back thereafter. The 23-year-old was part of Canada's campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and two years later, he finds himself playing in an ICC event in the country of his birth, evoking a mixed bag of emotions (Pic: AFP)
Jatiner Singh
Like Bajwa, Ludhiana-born Jatinder too would have the honour of captaining the side of his chosen homeland. The 36-year-old Oman captain has been around for more than a decade but never got the opportunity to play in India. However, with all of Oman's league fixtures scheduled in Sri Lanka, it is unlikely that Jatinder would be able to realise his dream of playing in his native land (Pic: File Pic)
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